The technology driven defence field is getting new and enhanced versions of warheads, every day and most of them are aimed at saving the lives of the soldiers. On the same path, UAV, Unnamed Arial Vehicle, are the best example, which has revolutionized the warfare strategies. All developed and many developing nations are having this technology and trying their best in improving the specifications of it to increase their usage and reduce the precious soldier loss. India also possesses some UAVs out of which, Rustom is very efficient and latest.
Versions of rustom UAV
Rustom 1 – Rustom 1 was the 1st variant of the Rustom family and was manufactured to carry out tactical surveillance with an endurance capability of 12-14 hours.
Rustom H – It is a bit larger than Rustom 1 with a flying endurance of 24 hours. It also had wings with turboprop engines.
Rustom C – It is the army version of Rustom-H. It is built to perform surveillance and combat operations.
It mainly has two versions Rustom 1 and Rustom -2. Both are manufactured by DRDO aimed for usage in the Armed forces of India. Rustom 2 is the improved version of Rustom 1. Rustom 1 has flown endurance of 12 hours while Rustom 2 has 24 hours of flying endurance. The speed of the old version is about 150 kmph while that of the new version is + 200 kmph.
Manufacturing Stages of Rustom
The Indian government has laid down the plan for manufacturing Rustom to replace Heron UAV from Indian Armed Forces. The first flight test on Rustom was conducted in 2008. During its maiden flight test in 2009, it crashed due to technical mistakes. After that, the request for proposal was sent to 4 defence manufacturing firms, TATA, BEL, Godrej Precision systems and HAL. Later HAL and BEL were selected for the joint manufacturing of the UAV. It took its successful flight trial in 2010 and was scheduled to be completely manufactured by 2012.
Recent Improvements
DRDO successfully tested Rustom-2 flight in its maiden attempt. The UAV is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV. It is also called TAPAS 201. It is made to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operation for Armed Force with a capability to operate in all kinds of climatic conditions. The UAV weighted 2 tonnes and testing was operated and piloted by the Armed Forces doing its test flight. DRDO has also indicated its plan to work over naval variant of TAPAS, which will be different from the army and air force versions, having more equipment’s and specifications.
Conclusion – UAVs are the next generation warfare weapons that will reduce human loss and will give out maximum output in minimum used resources. U.S. has used UAVs for several operations in war hit west Asian nations. While India is also preparing to deploy UAVs at different places to raise surveillance and accuracy in checks. Currently India is also seen bending towards U.S. for purchasing Predator drones, which come in the category of the best UAVs of times. The new technology will raise the level of security and alertness of the crucial areas of the nation.
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